


Simmer

by YouthRhapsody



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Kidfic, Lio lays a promaregg, M/M, not oviposition tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:49:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22037332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YouthRhapsody/pseuds/YouthRhapsody
Summary: Since the big burnout, the promare stranded to their earthling hosts are slowly dying out. One by one, the burnish lose their powers, and Lio Fotia awaits the day where his own promare will breathe its last flame.The triangular being inside of him however, is not so accepting of its own fate. Thankfully- earthlings have a unique mechanism in which to recreate oneself.
Relationships: Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos
Comments: 10
Kudos: 184





	Simmer

**Author's Note:**

> No major warnings for this fic. Lio lays a weird egg and Galo vows to hatch it. Using my alt account so that I don't become 'The person who wrote that fic where lio spits out an egg'. Don't take it too seriously lmfao

In the wake of everything, Galo and his newfound companion do their best to settle the burnish, and fear of their people that had been created. The burnish were now a dying species. The promare housed within their bodies remained trapped there, and eventually- they would die out with the humans who housed them. Those who remain try to mesh into society as best they can, no longer considered dangerous by the promepolis government. Their powers fade without the promare to fuel them, and they face a slow, quiet end, while their human hosts live on.

Lio, who may have once been the most powerful burnish to ever walk the earth, is no stranger to the dulling of his power. It goes unnoticed at first, but he begins to notice after the months pass. The last embers of his fire only smoulder, and he reserves his fire for moments of need. He ends up taking residence in Galo’s apartment, and just... Never leaves. They are connected, souls bonded together not unlike a burnish and their promare. Even if they wanted to split, Lio doubts that they could. 

So, it isn’t any surprise when Galo admits that he’s fallen for him. A man like him couldn’t beat around the bush with anything, it seemed. But Lio likes him as well. So as his promare slowly dies, his flame leaving him, he stokes the fire in his soul- burning for the man who burns for him in turn. 

But, somehow, he begins to want to feed that fire.

His promare screams at him in the night, a range of high pitched squeaks and cracks that Lio can only understand as ‘I want to be reborn’. 

Reborn? That doesn’t make any sense. He burns, but his promare is not sated. He stops burning, and his promare wails. He eats, and the triangular thing shakes his insides and makes him feel unbearably hot. 

He sweats, his skin glowing an unearthly shade of pink. A neon sheen covers him, and his legs feel weak. ‘I want to be warmer’, his promare says. ‘Go find something warm’, it begs. 

Galo is warm. He can go to Galo. 

Lio drags his body from the bathroom, through the living room, and the crawl from one side of their apartment to the other is torturous. He can’t summon his fire, and yet his promare squeals and cries. Was it dying? He had never heard of these symptoms in another burnish. 

“Galo...” He breathes, stumbling his way into the other man’s room. His boyfriend peeks up from where he’d been immersed in some game, and his jaw drops. 

“Lio, what did you do?!” He leaps up from his bed, rushing to the ailing burnish. 

“I don’t know.” Lio huffs. “I need something warm, right now.” He sways forward, finding the grasp of his partner. Immediately he finds some relief in the body of his human lover, low as it was compared to his own metal-melting temperatures of the past. 

Galo grabs a hold of the smaller man, steadying Lio’s body up against his own. He makes a sound of surprised disgust at the sticky pink sheen that covers most of his boyfriend’s flesh, even dripping out of his hair. He hears a sigh, and then a deep inhale. 

“Galo... Galo, Galo...” Lio’s voice becomes airy and almost... Mystified?

“Lio, Lio? Earth to Lio, do you read me?” Galo parrots back at him. “Maybe you should see a doctor, I don’t think I can handle this on-”

“Have I ever told you how handsome you are?” Lio rubs his face up against his chest. “I can feel it, your body temperature is at ninety-eight point seven degrees, and it’s going up a little more. I like how hot you are.” 

“There has to be some kind of carbon monoxide leak or something, you’re losing it Lio.” Galo tries to reason, but Lio is not having it. 

“I’m alright, as long as I’m with you.” He says again, in that blissful tone. “I’ll feel better if we go to bed for a while, I’m sure.” He rubs his head this time, not sure himself what had come over his body. It had something to do with the fussing creature inside of him. ‘I want to be reborn’, it tells him again, and Lio doesn’t get the meaning of it. 

“Aaaah, if you insist. But if you’re not better in a few hours, I’m at least calling Guiera or Meis. They’ll know what’s wrong with you.” Galo insists, guiding the burnish along to bed with him. He picks the smaller figure up, and sets him down, feeding his need for heat with the thick comforter. Galo slides beneath the blanket with him, and finds Lio clung to his body. The music from his game still plays softly to the side, and Lio’s head just barely peeks out from above the covers. 

“Is this some kind of burnish disease?” Galo questions. 

Lio grunts. “It might be.” He gulps. “I... I believe that my promare may be dying.” 

“Dying?!” The firefighter gasps. “Is it going to take you with it or something?” 

Lio holds on to him tighter. “I don’t know. I don’t have the urge to burn anything- I just... I want to consume something, it wants to be born into something new. I’m not sure what it all means.” 

“To be reborn... Do promare reincarnate when they die?” Galo questions. 

“I don’t know.” Lio responds. “All I know is that I desperately...” He gulps. “I want to be near you, now. I need heat, and I don’t think I could stand any else but yours.” 

“My soul burns hotter than anything that promare has ever experienced! It knows where to find something hot.” Galo snuggles up closer to him. “Hmm... Maybe we could make a little more heat happen? If it’ll take your mind off things?” 

“Oh god, you don’t know how badly I’d like that.” Lio crawls atop of him, still under the blanket. Clothes somehow get dragged off of bodies and slipped out from the sides of the covers. Lio curls up under them, in his own little pocket of heat as he sets about to kissing and lapping at the firm shaft between Galo’s legs. 

It’s hot here, he thinks. Delightfully warm. He wants to eat it. Not in a way that he wants to bite it off or anything, but the heat itself. He wants to suck it all out and devour it to fuel his own (dying?) fire. Galo does make him hotter, the strange sweat on his body burning brighter as he goes about to pleasing his lover. The larger man’s soft grunts and curses under his breath sink into his ears, and he can feel Galo’s head pop under the covers with him. 

“Woah- what is that?” Galo questions. “Somebody turned the lights on under here.” 

Lio pauses, and releases the cock in his mouth with an audible pop. Something under his flesh is alight- triangular in shape, he can only wonder if it is the creature within his body. It does not hurt, nor does it move. It simply wants to be, to not stop existing. 

“It’s pretty...” Galo reaches out to touch the light. “But are you sure you’re alright?” His fingertips come to rest on Lio’s chest, where the glowing emenates. 

“I’m sure I’m alright. I feel better now that it’s hot.” Lio assures him. He goes back to the task at hand, rubbing circles into Galo’s thigh. 

“Ah- Lio, I’m-” 

He takes the short spurts of seed into his mouth. Swallowing, he wants to cry almost. The heat of it trickles all the way down his throat, burning, until it seems to settle right in the center of his chest. Lio crawls up to the other man’s chest and kisses him, working life back into his prick. He insists that Galo be the one to fuck him. While this isn’t their usual way of doing things, particularly because of size difference, Lio insists- because ‘it will be hotter that way’. 

By the middle of the night, the moon sits outside of Galo’s window, and both men panting at one another’s side. 

“Huh... It stopped.” Galo turns over, and touches Lio’s chest. “The light is gone.”

Lio touches his sternum. “It is. I don’t know what that was all about, but I feel back to myself, now. I think I must have generated enough heat in my body to keep my promare alive.” 

“Huh...” Galo hums. “Well, if nobody is dying, then let’s hit the hay.” 

“Mmm. I’m beat.” Lio curls up beside the other man, perfectly content at last. 

...

‘I’m going to be reborn.’

Lio wakes up to an uncomfortable, searing heat in his belly. His eyes shoot open- and all he can see is the fire spitting out of his mouth. It lashes his tongue and evaporates the hairs in his nose. Something is very wrong, and he is going to be sick. Out of raw, human instinct, he makes a mad sprint for the toilet. Something is coming out of him, and it’s completely on fire, erupting from his mouth in spark. 

Somehow or another, he makes it to the toilet, heaving without restraint. The water in the bowl rises back out in billowing clouds of steam. Nothing but fire hits the bowl as it empties into a vapor cloud. Then, something stalls in his esophagus. He gags and heaves, physically lurching forward. With a sickening noise, something falls out of his throat and into the hot, dry toilet bowl. 

“Lio! Lio, what the hell is going on in here?!” 

He hadn’t even noticed the other man as he hurried to the ailing burnish's aid. Lio huffs and takes in the blissfully cool air, gawking at the thing that he had expelled. It's white and gelatinous, still coated in a bit of pink burnish flame. 

Out of gross curiosity, he picks it up. 

"Is that... An onigiri?" Galo questions, staring at him from the doorway. It does look like one, Lio thinks, with its odd shape. 

"I don't know what it is." Lio finally manages to speak. "Whatever it might be, I just coughed it up."

He manages to stand, holding the hot object with the bottom edge of his nightshirt. He and Galo look to one another, and then to the thing. 

"Is it your promare? Did it die?" Galo questions. He reaches out, poking the object.

Lio hums. "There are other burnish who have lost their powers because their promare faded away. I've never heard of it being expelled before." He rubs his eye of sleepiness. 

"Why don’t you try starting a fire?" Galo tells him, making open and close motions with his palms. 

"I never thought I'd hear you say that." Lio prods at him. 

"If you start one, I'm here to put it out!" Galo proclaims. 

"Alright then." Lio balances the thing in the crook of his arm. He calls out to his promare- and nothing comes back. Concentrating, he tries to summon his flame. But it does not come to him. 

Lio gulps. "My powers are gone." He breathes. "Whatever this thing is took them with it. However..." He rubs its surface, too hot for him to touch for long now. "I think this thing is alive. It... Could be the promare from inside of me?"

"Well what else could it be?" Galo questions him.

"I'm not sure." Lio knits his brows together. "Gueira and Meis have seen more of other burnish in their time than I have. They may know what's going on." He removes his nightshirt, and wraps it around the object. "In the meantime, I think it's best if we keep it warm." 

Galo parts the item from him, and holds it up to his chest. "On it!"

...

"No idea. Sorry, boss."

"I haven't seen anything like it before."

Lio sighs. "Thanks, you two."

Galo stands beside his boyfriend, the thing strapped to his chest with gauze that he'd pulled from one of the first aid kits, leaving his hands free. 

Guiera stands, bending over to examine the jelly-like item. "You're right about one thing, it's definitely alive. But you think it took your powers with you?"

Lio nods, crossing both arms over his chest. "I'm sure of it. My promare, or whatever was left of it, is inside of that thing." He hums. "I could hear it last night. It kept saying something along the lines of 'wanting to be reborn'. I don't get it."

"Do promare reincarnate into new ones when they die?" Meis questions from his spot on the couch. 

"Dunno, I've never heard of one taking any shape other than flames." Gueira pokes the thing. "'Reborn', huh? Mine never tells me to do anything but burn. It's just been growing quieter since the big burnout." 

Meis scrunches his face up in thought. "Mine as well... But yours was something else, boss. I wouldn't be surprised if it managed to take on a life of its own." 

Lio's frown deepens, and he taps his foot on the polished concrete below. "I'll get to the bottom of what it is." 

"Maybe this is what promare look like when they aren't in a body." Galo suggests. 

"If that's a promare, then it's dying." Lio replies. "Which does make sense, given the circumstances..."

"Sorry we can't be more help, Boss." Meis offers over to them. Gueira nods in agreement. 

"It'll be alright." Lio assures them. 

"Why don't we go ask the others? Lucia's pretty smart, she might have an idea.” Galo suggests. He pokes the gelatinous form strapped to his chest, and grumbles. “Don’t worry, whatever you are!” 

“Don’t talk to it, it’s not a pet. We don’t even know if it’s a living thing.” Lio grumbles back at him. He pushes Galo at the small of his back, urging him to go off and find the other members of burning rescue, provided they weren’t already on a mission.

“You could talk to your promare, right?! Don’t be rude!” Galo chides back. 

“It spoke to me, and it would be begging me to make you shut up! Now get moving!” 

Mad burnish’s ex-generals only snicker as the pair exit. Oh how their mighty boss had fallen.

...

"Yeah, it's definitely some kind of gummy.”

Lucia pokes the object strapped to Galo's chest. It jiggles, and goes back to its original shape. Vinny sniffs the air, standing on his haunches.

"That thing came out of Lio's mouth?" Aina questions. 

"It could be dangerous." Remi adds. 

"Hm." Varys nods. 

"Yeah, he barfed it up this morning. Last night he was acting all weird and had this pink sweat all over him. Then today, splash! This thing came out of his mouth!”

Lucia shudders. “How did you manage to get something that big out of your mouth?” 

Lio shivers in turn. “It wasn’t a pleasant experience.”

"Well why don't you just shove it back in there?" Lucia remarks. "If it came out, it can go back in!" 

"I don't know what would happen." Lio tells her. He crosses his arms, and lets out a sigh through his nose. “However... I’ve come to accept the fact that my powers will fade, just like all of the other burnish whose flame has died out. I think whatever it is, it’s just a by-product of my promare’s death. Or, it might be my promare itself- and it’s slowly dying outside of me.”

Aina leans forward, setting her head on her hand. "It doesn't look like it's suffering, but what do we know about extra dimensional beings? If it is alive... Maybe it would be better off if you put it out of its misery." 

"Aina has a point. If that thing is a promare, you have to be careful." Remi tells the pair. 

"I think we should ride it out, and see what happens." Galo nods his head. "I'm not going to give up on minimare.”

"Who?" Ignis comments as he walks in on the spectacle. 

"Minimare! That's his name." Galo pokes it. "And for now, I'm going to keep a close eye on him. With Lio's help, right?"

"Hmph. What other choice do I have?" Lio tuts. "Just don't get carried away. We don't know what it's capable of."

"Right. It's just you and me, and this guy makes three!"

...

“Do you have to sleep with it?” Lio questions. The strange hunk of jelly sat directly between he and his boyfriend, tucked up to Galo’s belly where he could share the heat of his body with it.

“I don’t want it to get cold.” Galo tells him, rubbing the smooth exterior of the object. “We still don’t know what it is exactly, but... I want to keep it alive. I think if it stays warm like this, then it won’t die.” 

Lio shoots him a pout, and Galo grunts loudly. “Just for tonight, Lio! Tomorrow I’ll find some other way to keep him warm! But for tonight, I’m not letting him go.”

“...Him?” 

Galo’s cheeks grow pink. “Yeah.” 

Lio sighs. “Just go to sleep.”

His lover is already shimmied under their comforter. “You don’t have to tell me twice!”

Galo curls up around the object that had come from Lio’s body. One eye half-open, he holds it close. It radiates a slight warmth, and he feeds it with the heat from his own body. Whatever it is, it’s alive, and he wants to save it- just like anything else. Maybe it is a dying promare, as their less advanced earthling eyes could see it. Maybe it would die, and he could do nothing to stop it. But for now, he lets out a sigh, and keeps the blob tucked up close to the heat that they share. 

When he wakes, the thing is still there. He breathes a sigh of relief, noting that it still sends off the same radiant heat as when he had left it for dreamland. In the warm, dark cave that his blanket creates around them, he opens his eyes. And he is met with a teeny-tiny light peeking back at him.

Rubbing his eye, Galo sits up. In the sunlight of morning, he can see an object in the translucent material of the blob. Barely there, but there all the same, he can see a... Triangle? Bright as Lio’s fire, it emits the same magenta hue.

“Lio...” He mumbles. “Lio, wake up.” He calls again, shaking the smaller man’s shoulder. 

“Mnn, shut up.” He’s waved away.

“It’s the thing, there’s something inside of it!” Galo insists, shaking him again. This time, he is met with a tired, death-laden glare, though Lio sits up in spite of it. Galo pokes the blob’s surface. “Look! There’s a little triangle thing floating around inside of it!”

Lio grimaces, and peers into the center of his mystery excretion. He blinks, rubs his eyes, and looks again "That... Looks like a promare." He mutters. 

“It’s small, if it’s a promare...” Galo looks at the shape. “I didn’t even notice it yesterday, and I carried it around the whole time.” He scrunches his entire face up, staring intently at the little triangle, as if it could look back at him. Well... Maybe it could? Shapes didn’t usually have eyes to peep around with. But Galo Thymos does, and he uses his peepers and his brain to piece together all that he had laid out before him. 

This had all started when Lio had turned pink and sweaty, and started glowing like a christmas tree. Post-coitus, he’d gone sprinting for the toilet, and barfed up some kind of gelatinous ball. Then, his powers had gone right into the shitter with it. On top of it all, whatever it was, it had to be alive. 

A lightbulb goes off in his head.

“Oh my god.” 

“What?” Lio yawns. 

“I’ve cracked the code. I know what this thing is.” Galo holds it up, gaze set on its little core. 

“Your guess is as good as mine.” 

“It’s a baby!” Galo states, setting the thing in his lap. 

Lio blinks. He rolls over, and pulls the blanket back over himself. “Go back to sleep.”

“I’m serious! It’s a baby promare!” Galo protests with fervor. “Think about it for a second. This thing looks like a big frog egg now that I think about it, and you said that your promare told you something about wanting to be born again. It’s being born again from this!”

“That’s nice, honey.” Lio grunts. 

“Mmmnhgh... I’ll talk to you about it later. I have a baby to look after.” Galo hops out of bed, the egg at his chest. “It’s just you and me little guy. While he’s asleep, we’ll figure out a name for you.” He rubs the thing all over its shell, and marches into the kitchen for coffee and breakfast.

...

“Everyone, this is Minimare! And he’s my son!” 

“He’s wha?” Lucia pops the straw from her soda out of her mouth. 

Galo displays the egg with every bit as much pride as he had brandished his matoi upon his entry into burning rescue. The others look at him like he’d just proclaimed his devotion to a life of arson. 

Lio sits behind his boyfriend, face buried in his hands. “No it isn’t. Ignore him.” 

“I’ve figured it out, and this is some kind of promare egg. Lio’s promare realized that it was dying, and so it had a baby to keep living! And I’m going to sit on him until he hatches!” Galo gives a resolute nod. “I’m his father after all- it’s my responsibility.” 

He hears a few chuckles. “What’s so funny?”

“So what’s coming out of it, a dorito?” Varys questions, holding back his laughter along with everyone else. Aina, friend that she is, is the only one who seems to take Galo’s claims with any scrap of seriousness. And even she appears doubtful. 

However, his teammate has a point. Galo scratches the back of his head. “I don’t know the answer to that... I mean, I guess it’s just a promare? Maybe it’ll go back into Lio, and he’ll get his powers back.” 

“You shouldn’t take it lightly then, it could pose a threat if it’s a promare without a human host.” Remi adds. 

Ignis gives a nod. “He has a point. Don’t get carried away, Galo.” 

“There’s nothing to worry about, because it’s not. An. Egg.” Lio groans. 

“Well it MIGHT be an egg.” Galo retorts. “And if it is, it’s your egg too, so you’d better take responsibility for it when it hatches.” 

“If. If it hatches.” Lio finally pulls his eyes up from his palms. 

“Right. Now, I’ve got to go find something to keep this little guy cozy while I’m on the job.” Galo jogs off, taking the item with him. 

Left alone, eyes turn to the once-leader of Mad Burnish. 

“You two really do love each other, huh?” Lucia snickers. She spins around in her chair, continuing to clack away at her keyboard. 

Lio lets out a sigh, and zips the too-big rescue uniform over his chest. “Unfortunately.” 

“Well,” Aina finally speaks up. “Love can do strange things. Maybe even to an alien. Maybe you should listen to Galo’s idea- it could be an egg.” 

The laughter breaks in the room, and Aina’s face becomes a sudden match to her hair. 

... 

“You’re supposed to be training, not goofing around with that thing.” Lio rests himself in the doorway of burning rescue’s kitchenette, equipped with a plug-in burner, microwave, and overstuffed fridge. 

Galo digs around the poorly equipped kitchen, as if it were ever actually used for cooking. “I’ll get to it, I just-” There’s a distinct metal clunk, and a victorious cry from the fireman. “Need a little something to keep this guy comfy while I get to work!” He brandishes a dented pot. He continues to rummage about the cupboards, eventually procuring a stainless steel mixing bowl. He blows off the blanket of dust that covers it, and hums. 

“Lio!” He calls out. The other man is taken slightly aback at the cry. “Can you lend me that thing you wear around your neck? I’ll give it back.” 

Lio blinks. “My cravat?” He unzips his uniform to reveal the ruffled cloth. “Well, if you promise to give it back, then I don’t see any harm.” He loosens the cloth, and holds it out for his boyfriend. Galo plucks it from his gloved fingers, and offers the smaller man a wide grin. 

“Thanks! This should be perfect.” He shoves Lio’s cravat into the bowl, lining the bottom of its surface. Lio watches, somewhat amused as Galo scurries about the kitchenette, putting together some form of makeshift incubator. It ends up being a double-boiler. The pot filled with water, and then the object placed down onto the cloth. Placing it on the stove, Galo sets the heat just low enough to warm the water to a slight steam- not even a simmer. 

“Alright. Now he won’t get cold, and I can get to work.” Galo places his hands on his hips, proudly displaying his handiwork. He pulls both gloves back up to fit snug on his fingers, and marches toward the doorway where Lio stands. 

“Galo.” Lio calls out, just before his lover can pass. Galo stops in his tracks, turning his attention down to the blonde. Lio looks up to him in turn. “...What’s the big deal if that thing lives or dies? Why are you so passionate about protecting it?” 

“Why?” Galo questions. He looks to the pot on the stove, holding whatever it was inside, and huffs. “It’s a living thing, Lio. I don’t know what it is either, but... If it’s alive, then I want to at least try to keep it happy. Whether it’s your promare on your last leg of life, or if it’s a new one waiting to be born.”

Lio cocks his head to one side. “What if it turns out to be something out of our control, or something that we never saw coming?” 

“I’ve got a handle on it, you can trust me!” Galo assures him. 

“Then-” Lio starts. 

“Listen, if that thing is your promare-!” Galo talks over him without meaning to. “Then after everything it’s done for you, I think that you should try to look after it. You owe the little guy that much at least.” 

“You didn’t let me finish.” Lio barks. 

“Sorry.” 

“It’s alright.” The smaller sighs, and lets the tension fall from his shoulders. “Alright, Galo. If you’re dedicated to this... Thing, then I am too. Even if I don’t really believe that it’s an egg.” 

The fireman’s eyes light up. “You are?!” He questions. “Then we’re a team again! You, me, and Minimare!” 

“... Is that really what you're calling it?” 

“Yes. That’s his name.” 

Lio pinches his brow. “I’m the one who coughed it up, shouldn’t I get to name it at least?” 

Galo pouts. “Have any better ideas? You should be glad I didn’t go with Galo Jr.” 

“For the love of all that is good, not that. I love you with all of my heart, Galo, but there is enough of you to go around.” 

With a dumb grin, Galo leans in to peck his boyfriend’s lips with a kiss. “I love you too.”

...

True to his word, Galo does not force the thing (Minimare, as he insists on calling it) into their bed again. He constructs a makeshift incubator with steam and cookware, keeping the environment warm and moist for his little mystery blob.

Lio can feel his partner get up, and he supposes that he’d just left on the usual pee run. But again in the night- Galo leaves the bed. Oh, he realizes in his half-asleep brain. He’s probably checking on the thing. 

The third time, he manages to catch Galo's arm before he gets out of bed. "Get some rest. I'll check up on it."

"Hm? I can do it." Galo protests, the sleepiness evident on his tongue. 

"It's alright." Lio sits up, swinging his feet over the side of the bed. He watches Galo shuffle back under the blankets, needing no more instruction from his partner. 

Lio drifts into the kitchen, the light of the electric stove drawing him closer. God forbid Galo cook with gas and start a flame. Either way, the thing sits in its makeshift basket, laid atop a steaming pot of water. The little triangle inside of its core glows, seemingly content.

Drawing his eyes to a thin squint, Lio leans over the contraption. He places his hand on the blob, and it feels just about body temperature, if not a few degrees higher. 

He wonders what it is. Could it be his promare? If it is, then it's awfully puny... Maybe it had gone into some kind of hibernation, or a healing state. 

He listens in, to the voice that had always been there- for as long as he could remember. There is no response. He calls the flame. Nothing. Lio sighs. 

"Why did you have to leave me so soon?" He whispers, placing his palm on the 'egg's' surface. "Gueira and Meis still have their fire, even if it's weaker. What am I supposed to do without mine?"

Bump. Lio gasps as something Galo-sized comes to press itself behind him, nuzzling into the top of his head. 

"I'll burn for you, baby. And whatever that thing hatches into- it'll do the same, I can feel it." Galo gives him a sleepy reassurance. He tugs Lio along, puppeteering the smaller man around and towards their bed. "Sleepy now. It'll be ok."

Lio yawns. "Agreed."

... 

The triangle gets bigger. Lio still doesn't subscribe to the egg theory, but he can't deny that whatever is in there is growing steadily. He consults Gueira and Meis once again, and the development of the thing only raises more questions from the ex generals. 

"I don't know, your boytoy might be right. It does look kind of like a frog egg." Gueira comments. 

"It has your eyes, boss." Meis nods, leaning back from where he'd been examining the egg's pink core. 

"Hahaha." Lio says in a deadpan. "Thanks you two. If you find anything, let me know. Galo is hellbent on keeping this thing alive until it... Comes out of there, I suppose." 

"Why do you have it?" Gueira questions.

Lio lets out a long sigh. "He's out with Varys on cat duty. I told him I'd watch it."

"Awh. You're a responsible father, aren't you?" Meis prods. 

Lio turns his nose up to them. "You say that as if it's an insult. I did hack this thing up, I shouldn't ignore it."

The other two snicker at him, and Lio stomps away. They mean well, at least. 

But 'minimare' is kind of cute, everything be damned.

...

Galo comes home with a portable burner (electric, of course), so that Minimare can be sat in the corner of their bedroom. All it takes is a little peek, and maybe a feel for Galo to be assured that his precious science project is safe, then it's back to bed. It can be taken to work easily enough as well, plopped in the breakroom for the rest of burning rescue to jeer at. 

But when it comes down to it, the thing is still a mystery. As the triangle grows, Lio becomes more intent on discovering the thing's identity- before it could turn out to be something dangerous. What could an unhosted promare do, if left to run amok on earth? Would it return to a body? Why had his body given off such a strange aura before it came out? 

He retraces his steps. His promare had been less inclined to burn in the weeks preceding all of this. Lio had been suspicious that it may be nearing the end of its life, and that he would wake one morning without it there to guide him. That seemed to be how it went for the other burnish, as their promare lost power and faded to nothing. But his had been adamant- it did not wish to die, but instead, to be born again. 

He recalls that night again. He had slept with Galo, but... If his promare had wanted to reproduce, then it most certainly would have required another burnish, right? If it could have settled with the DNA provided by another human... Then that would result in. Something strange. A human? A human promare hybrid? A burnish? The thought that it may actually emerge a person troubles him. 

Snow falls outside of the window, covering Promepolis' remains in a soft blanket of white. Galo sits snug beneath his heated table, a 'kotatsu' as he called it. Their day off is spent with him marvelling at the little blob, snugly resting on its incubator while he gawks at the light in its center. The triangle had quadrupled in size in the weeks that had passed, and its light would grow and fade with what they both supposed must be waking and rest.

Lio tucks his legs beneath the table's blanket, bumping his own socks against Galo's calves. "Galo. I think we need to talk." He states, setting his coffee down and beside the incubator. 

Galo picks his head up from the table. "Is it about the toilet?"

"No, it's not about that." Lio sighs. "It's about... Minimare." He calls it by name, knowing it means something his partner. 

"What about him?" Galo questions. 

"I'm starting to grow concerned about what it could be growing inside of there." Lio tells him. "I've done a lot of thinking about everything that led up to it... Coming out of me. And," He sighs. "I think you might be right. It might be a baby promare."

"Aha, so you've seen the light!" Galo exclaims. 

"However." Lio takes a drink from his mug. "Some things don't add up. In order for a promare to reproduce sexually, it would need another promare, from another burnish. But... You are just a normal man."

"Uh-huh." Galo nods his head. 

"What I'm getting at is-" Lio takes a deep breath. "That thing could be a... Hybrid, of some kind. Promare and human. It could have used our DNA to reproduce itself. "

"A hybrid?" Galo leans back, gawking at Minimare as its light twinkles. "That thing doesn't look like a human at all."

"It may not be able to take the shape of one, as it stands." Lio tells him. "But, we need to be prepared for anything. It could be a roque promare, or a hybrid, or... Our kid."

Those words bring a silence to the room. Galo looks to him, to the blob, and back again. "Our... Kid." He states, digesting the words. 

"Yes." Lio nods. "We have to be ready for anything. Including that." 

Galo sets his chin in his hand. "I mean... I always wanted kids, but I thought I'd be older, and that we'd be like, married." He muses. "But I guess if one of us was a girl, then we'd have to worry about surprise babies. Right?"

"Mm." Lio agrees. "...How do you feel about it?"

"Well I..." Galo rubs the back of his head. "I think I'm okay with it. There's never really a perfect time to have a kid! We could take advantage of being young, and we've never let anything stand in our way before!"

The smaller man takes another sip from his mug. "... I've never really thought about it." He admits. "I was on the run for so many years, I didn't have time for love, let alone kids. I took care of many babies who were abandoned by their parents because they became burnish, but I never had them for long." He sets the mug down. "...I don't think I'd be a good father."

"That's not true!" Galo blurts. "You'd be a great one! You're smart, and you're kind, and if it is some kind of human, triangle, burnish, fire baby, then you can guide it with the experience that you have!"

Lio feels his ears grow hot. "Do you mean that? I lose my temper easily, and I'm. Not exactly a 'dad' type." 

"Well, I'm an idiot with a soul of fire. Nobody's perfect." Galo nods resolutely. "We can do it. No matter what comes, we're together to face the challenge. Right?"

Lio can't help but smile at the fiery passion of his partner. "Right."

...

"Alright you guys. I think it's actually a baby promare."

"You finally bought into it, didn't you?" Gueira asks. 

Lio places his hands on his hips. "I'm being serious. It keeps growing bigger and bigger."

"So it's not dying out?" Meis pokes his head out of a rescue-type mech as Gueira helps with adjustments to its armor. 

"Exactly. Whatever it is, it's alive, and getting stronger."

"Well congrats Mom, looks like your boyfriend's sitting on a promare." Gueira tells him from the shoulder of Meis' suit. 

"How am I supposed to know if it's a promare at all?" Lio questions. "Galo and I are both humans. If my promare somehow managed to use my body for it's own reproductive means... Then it only could have worked with another promare-bearing person, right?"

"You're both men, though." Meis reminds him. 

"Do you think those little triangular boogers care?" Guiera snarks back. "What do you think, boss? Could it be a human, or some kind of hybrid?"

"That's my question exactly." Lio states. "I mean... If it's a promare, then I can handle it. But if it's a human baby growing in there..." He gulps. "I don't know what I'll do."

...

"It's cute..." Aina mutters, peering into the squishy center of Minimare. The triangle inside remains still, giving off its subtle light. 

"I know, right? I think it really is a baby in there." Galo tells her. He looks at the shape, and takes a deep breath. "But you know, I don't know what to expect. I mean, even if we're both guys, maybe it's a human?"

They sit together in the training room, settled on a bench between the scorched walls. "Human?" Aina questions. "It can't be. It has to be an alien, right?"

"I'm not sure." Galo groans. "I mean, burnish already get pretty weird sometimes, and this just adds a whole new layer to it. If Lio's promare wanted to, maybe it could have used his body to make a new promare? Or would it have to be a person?"

"Well it would need both of you to be human, right?" Aina asks him. "We can't just make babies on our own."

"Well duh. I know that much!" Galo huffs. "But... He was acting all weird before this happened. His sweat was pink. And something was glowing in his chest. On top of that, he was all over me."

Aina's cheeks turn pink. "You mean...?"

"Out of this world horny." Galo nods his head. "He swallowed some of my... Yknow, and then it stopped an hour or two later."

"You mean-!" Aina's face flushes even redder. 

"Don't look at me like that, Aina! You're the only person who I can talk to about this. I mean, you're a girl, you know things about babies, right?" Galo hangs his noggin, looking defeated. "I mean, I really never thought I'd have to worry about this if I was with another guy! I love kids, but what if I'm not ready to be a dad, to an alien or a person?!"

Aina watches as her team mate lets his stresses unfold, clutching Minimare tight to his body heat. "Galo... I can't give you the answer to that. You and Lio will have to decide that for yourself." She sighs. "But I will tell you... I don't think you'd be a bad father at all. Maybe you'll have to learn to be a bit more patient, but there isn't any challenge that I haven't seen you overcome." 

Galo lets out a mighty sniffle. "Thank you Aina, you're the best." He sobs in his dramatic tone. 

"Any time, Galo." She offers him a tissue from her pocket.

...

"Here you go, boss!" Gueira thrusts something into Lio's hands. "It's not much, but we thought you deserved it."

"We smithed it with our own flames." Meis adds.

"It's... A pot? And a basket?" Lio questions. 

"Yeah! Galo always has Minimare sitting on one, we thought you'd appreciate something an little more stylish and sturdy. That should keep the heat more even, and the basket'll hold moisture in for the little guy until it hatches."

"Ah-" Lio judges the weight of the gift in his hand- it is hefty, knowing Meis' sensibilities. "Thank you guys."

"No problem! I can't wait to see what actually comes out of that thing!" Gueira questions. 

"LIO! Lio, oh my god." 

"Over there." Meis comments as Galo stampedes into the room, heaving breath in and out with Minimare in his hands. 

"What is it?" Lio asks. 

"I-" Galo takes a deep breath. "I was working on the Matoi with Lucia, and she grabbed a blowtorch and started doing her thing y’know, so I'm sitting there and-"

"Yes?" The smaller man sighs.

"It MOVED!" Galo thrusts the thing forward. 

"Moved?" Lio cocks his head to the side. 

"Yeah, like, it kicked! Feel it, maybe it'll do it again!" Galo scurries over to the other man, holding out the egg to him.

Lio can't help but feel curious as he touches his palm to the slick surface of the thing. He waits a moment, and the triangle sits still as ever. 

That is, until he feels a faint, tiny bump against it. His eyes widen, and he pulls his hand back. "It did move..." He breathes. 

"No way, let me feel!" Gueira worms his way in between the two men, placing his palms on Minimare. He waits for a moment, and the heat from his still-burnish hands causes the triangle to jump. "Ack! Meis come check it out, this thing is really alive!" 

Meis earns the same response, his heat making the little creature inside jump for joy.

Galo beams, and Lio tries hard not to. There's a mutual burning between them, knowing that whatever that little thing is- it's theirs.

...

"Y'know, Minimare isn't looking so mini anymore." Lucia sips from the straw of her iced coffee. 

It's true. What was once smaller than a grain of rice had grown exponentially larger. The triangle spans the whole of its blobby container, the entire thing having grown from the time that Lio could have coughed it up.

Galo gulps down a slice of leftover pizza, packed in tupperware from the night before. The whole of burning rescue sits in their shared space, taking a lunch before another cat gets stuck up a tree. Things aren't quite as exciting as in the old days, but it's a living. "Yeah... He's getting a little cramped in there, isn't he? I wonder if he'll hatch soon."

"Are you prepared for that?" Ignis questions in his usual stern tone.

"I'm on it." Galo gulps down the last bit of crust. "Whatever it is, it's my responsibility. And yours too, right Lio?" He gives the smaller man a hearty pat on the back, almost knocking his mug from his hands. 

"Right." He agrees. "Whatever it is took my burnish powers with it. If it is some kind of alien, then I'll have to control it." He stares into the center of the egg, sitting on the pot that his teammates had made for him. It had grown nearly too big for its shell, edges nearly poking against the walls. 

"You were totally the master of your promare before, boss. It'll be fine!" Gueira chimes in.

"What if it's a human though?" Aina questions. "Do you have any clothes for it?"

Galo's smile fades. "Er.. Not exactly, we've kinda been waiting for it to hatch."

"So if it is a human, you don't have anything for it?" Ignis half-scolds the couple.

"No, but I'm sure there's still plenty of time!" Galo waves his hand at the team's leader. He takes a deep gulp, and opens his eyes again. 

Snap.

There's an audible crackle in the air. Eyes move about the room, looking for a dropped phone or a cracked wall- but Galo focuses his eyes forward. Minimare jumps in its pot, and sparks. Hot embers fly from where it tosses about, causing the fireman to jump to his feet. 

"Uh-oh." He states, picking up the wiggling mass. 

Pink light encapsulates the room, sparking with jarring blues as Minimare bursts into flames. 

"Uh-oh!" Galo repeats, dancing around with the egg in his hands, burning bright into his gloves. 

Pandemonium erupts throughout the group, a flurry of voices and movements at the explosion. Galo picks up the egg as Aina yells at him not to touch it, Lucia ducks under a table, Remi draws his fire-destroying gun, and Varys shouts in surprise. Guiera and Meis jump to their Boss' aid, and Ignis looks on at it all. 

"UH-OH!" Comes for a third and final time from Galo, as the heat starts to penetrate his gloves.

Lio snatches the egg from Galo's hands as it threatens to light him on fire. Am audible gasp erupts from those around him.

It burns as he curls his entire body around the inferno, becoming encapsulated in the fire. It hurts- but he holds right on to the flames as they scorch his retardant uniform.

"Calm down, stop burning...!" He speaks, in the same tone that he would have once given to his promare.

The fire calms. 

It shrinks, and triangular sparks dance in the center of Lio's palms. The weight of Minimare is still there- and the room goes quiet as the fire dies lower and lower, revealing a shape in Lio's grasp. 

The last flame rises up from a very new, very small, and very human baby. 

"...H...He's-" Galo stammers, leaning over his lover as the infant lies motionless. 

Spitting up flames, the little one screams, and begins to thrash. 

"He's a she." Lio barely makes out. 

The room erupts into a raucous cheer, almost drowning out the screaming of Galo and Lio's daughter. 

...

"Wow..." Galo whispers. "We really made this, huh?"

"I guess... Yeah, we did." Lio breathes in the same tone. 

'Minimare' rests in Lio's arm, drinking from a tiny bottle of formula. Their daughter had been carted off for supplies in a swaddle made of flame-resistant pants, and brought back to their home, away from the excited ruckus of the team.

Lio lets out a sigh. "My promare must have recreated itself in her. She's definitely burnish." He mutters. 

"That's okay. She's got someone to show her the ropes." Galo assures him. "She's so small and perfect." He tries not to cry again. 

"So... What do you want to name her?" Lio asks. "Minimare is cute and all, but I think she deserves something a little more... Human."

"Yeah." Galo nods. "Hmm... Promette, Galoko, Lioko..."

"Ew."

"Hey, I didn't think this far ahead!" Galo retorts. "How about... Atsuko?" 

"Atsuko?" Lio questions. 

"Yeah! It's from a word in japanese. 'Atsu' is warm, and... Y'know, she was born from fire."

Lio hums. "It fits well enough. Atsuko." He whispers. "You and I are connected now more than ever, huh?" 

"Definitely." Galo laughs, and leans up against his partner. Spring rain falls outside, and it is quiet.

**Author's Note:**

> Welp, that's it! I hope you guys like my little idea that spawned from the promaregg pun lol. I'd love to hear your feedback!


End file.
